So, this one is a lot shorter than the last one but I wanted it to stand alone. I don't consider this so much of a filler chapter though it kind of is. I think there are some really important conversations going on here. Some of you commented on the behavior in the last chapter and told you it would be addressed here, so here it is. I wanted to thank you all for all the comments and alerts and favorites I've gotten. It makes my heart tingle. Thank you so much. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I own a whopping nothing. I don't own the characters or NCIS. They ain't mine. I'm just a devoted impatient fan.
"So, you Ziva's baby daddy?" McGee joked as Tony returned to his desk. Noticing Tony's solemn face, his goofy grin fell.
"Please, Tim" Tony pleaded, looking completely defeated. Tony just couldn't hold his own against anyone or anything.
"You're kidding, Tony. You are? You wanna talk?" McGee verified in sympathetic shock. He stood slowly from his chair and approached the senior field agent cautiously. He waited just outside the perimeter of Tony's work area to be permitted in.
"She spat at me, Probie" Tony whispered in disbelief though he knew it had really happened, "I mean I understand why she did it. I would have too. She -she could have punched me, kicked me, put her Sig to my skull but - but that would have shown she cared. She would have cared, and been affected, enough to hurt me back. Instead -instead she, uh, she just treated me like I was the floor."
"Tony, she's only handling herself the way she knows how, pretending it didn't affect her." McGee reasoned taking a step closer to his team mate.
"I know McGee, I just, I didn't know how to phrase what I wanted to say and nothing came out right. I don't want her to end the pregnancy, I want to be involved. I just, there's a fucking language barrier! And then I just didn't have a chance to fix it." Tony further explained himself.
"Come on, DiNozzo, don't throw a fit" McGee scolded feeling annoyed by Tony's self pity, "we all know you've grown up. She knows you wouldn't want something so selfish, heck you've barely dated since Jeanne. She's knows you, and seeing that the two of you are now in this predicament, she probably knows how you feel about her."
"I, I don't know if she knows." Tony mumbled meekly.
"Then make sure she does." Timothy finalized sternly before walking towards his desk and sitting down, as if nothing had happened. When had the Probie become so wise? When did he grow a backbone?
Tony watched as Gibbs made his way down the stairs and waited for Ziva to make an appearance behind him but she never did. He waited a second longer before turning towards the older man.
"Boss, where is she?" Tony wondered, the concern evident in his eyes. His only response was the wave of a hand signaling him to follow his superior. Tony stood and followed Gibbs to the elevator and stepped in knowingly. He braced himself for the yelling, the anger and the blows to the head as Gibbs flipped the emergency switch between floors, but he hadn't been prepared for himself, the strong and brave Anthony DiNozzo, to break down. It came out of nowhere as DiNozzo bit back tears but some things are inevitable. Tony dragged a hand down his face, in result somewhat disguising the tears. He turned his back on Gibbs and crouched down to compose himself. A hand was placed on Tony's shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze, urging the young agent to face Gibbs. He watched Tony choke down a large knot in his throat and listened as his voice came out hoarsely.
"How long has she known, Boss?" Tony forced, slightly afraid of the answer. Gibbs tilted his head sympathetically, so minute that it was hardly noticeable.
"She said about three months." Gibbs answered cautiously. Tony nodded slowly as he sank to the floor to digest the information.
"That long, huh? And she couldn't have mentioned it sooner?" Tony grunted to conceal a subtle sob.
"DiNozzo, you know this is hard for her. She's not used to having anyone to depend on." Gibbs acknowledged softly as he sunk down beside the senior field agent.
"But, she hid it from me and put our kid in harm's way for three months. I don't know if I can forgive that." Tony mumbled as he narrowed his eyes at his feet.
"You already have. I know you, Tony, that's not what you're upset about. You got over that already, now you're trying to figure out how to patch things up with David. You're scared she won't give you a second chance. But she will, Tony, because you're a good man and when I talked to her she was afraid that you were leaving her."
"She's the one that walked away." Tony rebutted lamely. He knew Gibbs was right, heck he always was, but he wasn't Tony if he didn't fight.
"Maybe she was scared that if she didn't do it first, then she'd be the one left standing there. Ziva hurts so she doesn't get hurt." Gibbs shrugged. And there it was again; the logic. Dead silence settled upon the elevator at the men sat side by side.
"Gibbs, why aren't you smacking me around and yelling at me?" Tony wondered softly.
"I can't be mad at you for bringing a child into the world. I knew you broke my rules, hell, I've broken my rules. I'm willing to make an exception. It's my own fault for sending you to Paris. You've already screwed your partner, don't you dare screw her over." Gibbs assured forcefully giving Tony a short glare while he finished his speech. Gibbs had his rules, but for every rule there seemed to be an exception that only Gibbs could decide upon. It was common knowledge that Abby and McGee had dated at one point.
"Got it, Boss." Tony smiled and stood, "now what?"
"Now you have to go talk to Abby. She's been calling my phone for the past half hour wondering if the rumors are true." Gibbs chuckled after standing and switching the elevator on. When the doors slipped open Tony took a moment to gather himself before smiling back at Gibbs and stepping into Abby's Lab.
As soon as he too a step in Abby flung herself at him speaking a mile a minute.
"Tony! Are the rumors true? Is Ziva knocked up? Do you know who the father is? Is she dating someone? Is the baby a boy or girl? What is she going to name it? What's her do date? Do you think she would name it after me?" Abby cried stringing her several sentences into one mindless word.
"Uh, Abbs, slow down. First of all, Ziva is in fact pregnant. Second of all, that's all I know. I haven't talked to her. She won't talk to me." Tony replied in one seamless cool demeanor.
"Ziva's pregnant? How far along is she? Does she know who the father is? Why isn't she talking to you? Why don't you know more? You're like her best friend. Where is she?" Abby pondered, slower this time.
"Those are actually questions I know the answer to," Tony began with a grin, "I pissed her off, hurt her feelings and revealed her secret to Gibbs. She told Ducky she was about 4 months along. Last time I saw her she was in the conference room with Gibbs. I'm guessing she's probably still there though. She was too upset to be around people."
Abby nodded along slowly digesting the information.
"Tony? Do you know who the father is?" Abby questioned sluggishly emphasizing each syllable.
"Yeah about that, the father is, uh, me" Tony explained slowly getting quitter until he just mouthed the last word. Abby cocked her head to the side examining her friend's face. She wanted make sure she had assumed correctly. The answer wasn't spoken but merely implied. Tony pointed at himself just to confirm her suspicions.
"TONY! When did this happen?!? I'm so excited! A little DiNozzo? I'm so excited. Does this mean you are a couple now? I knew it was meant to be! Wait, what did you do to piss her off?" Abby sang excitedly bouncing around happily but suddenly paused to look at Tony. He proceeded to explain the whole misunderstanding so she didn't go in blindly when she went to talk to Ziva.
"So, do think it's okay if I go talk to her?" Abby asked shyly.
"Of course, Abbs. You're her best friend. I think she needs you right now." Tony nodded forcing a smile. He was jealous knowing that she would gladly flock to Abby for comfort, likely letting Abby hug her, but would probably refuse to speak to Tony.
Tony sighed as he watched Abby flee towards the elevator excitedly. She was a good friend. Ziva only deserved good friends.
Thanks for reading. I really hope you enjoyed it. I appreciate constructive critism. I'm always looking to improve. I take responsibility for all grammar/ spelling mistakes though I did proof it 4 times, I don't like using betas. LOVE YOU ALL! KISS KISS!
Also, who else is looking forward to the next episode? The promo makes it look juicy!
Tony cried in this chapter, inspired by the extremely manly and sexy Dr. Derek Shepherd. Grey's Anatomy is my favorite show even though I don't like Grey's fanfiction, I feel that show is perfect enough. Anyway, this is what I was imagining when I wrote Tony crying. Both are Grey's Anatomy clips.
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